Welcome to Walking with Jesus, a devotional journey through books of the Bible from Forest Hill Presbyterian Church. I'm Pastor Jason Van Bemmel. We are on day five of our journey through the book of James, looking at James chapter 1, verses 9 through 12, and asking this question, what really matters in the end? Here's James 1, 9 through 12. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass. Its flower falls and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. That's James 1, 9-12 in the English Standard Version. Well, when I was a kid, I thought the Dukes of Hazzard was great television, and I thought McDonald's was a great place to go out to eat. I didn't know what was really valuable then. So much of the trouble we encounter in life stems from not valuing what is truly valuable. We tend to be distracted by things right in front of us, by the immediate and the material. Whether it's the tyranny of the urgent or the snare of materialism, our sinful hearts tend to be drawn to things that just don't matter that much. James tells poor Christians to boast in their exaltation, that God reached down in His grace to save them and lift them from sin and death and give them forgiveness and eternal life. Then he tells rich Christians to boast in their humiliation, the fact that they are spiritual paupers in the eyes of God, bankrupt and helpless apart from the riches of God's grace. Why does James tell the rich and the poor to boast in different aspects of their salvation? Because each would be tempted to lose perspective in different ways. The poor would be tempted to think that God was against them because they were poor. So James reminds them of their exaltation. The rich might be tempted to think they were special in God's eyes because they had money. They needed to remember their humiliation without Christ. Then James gives both the rich and the poor the basis for the right perspective. All human flesh and human accomplishments fade away so quickly, none of it really matters much for long. James is making an allusion to Isaiah 40, verses 6 through 8, which says, A voice says, Cry, and I said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows on it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. As temporary as the things of this world are, The crown of life, which God alone can give, is unfading and glorious. For those who belong to God and who persevere in faith, we receive the best and most lasting treasure, eternal life with God himself. And that alone is something truly worth living for.